Newbie question about gravity

With my superficial grasp of spacetime physics I have come to a basic
understanding of such complex and occasionally bizarre gravitational
phenomena as orbital pathways, light bending, and black holes, but
there remains one simple every day fact of gravity that does not make
sense to me within this framework: why do things fall down?

If I drop a baseball, what gives it its downward motion? I understand
how the curvature of spacetime affects the trajectories of objects
that are already moving, but if an object is initially at rest, how
does the curvature of space time make any difference?

That baseball is inanimate, unpowered, and not under the influence of
any force (if we reject the Newtonian conception of gravity). So why
does it suddenly start moving when I let go? Does not such
spontaneous motion violate Newton's First Law?

Enlightenment would be much appreciated.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Newbie question about gravity
    ... how the curvature of spacetime affects the trajectories of objects ... that are already moving, but if an object is initially at rest, how ... any force (if we reject the Newtonian conception of gravity). ... spontaneous motion violate Newton's First Law? ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: God=G_uv Comments of Isham Dembski Unwin
    ... commentaries from Drs. Isham and Dembski. ... with which they have received this remarkable discovery. ... curvature of real space or is even a curvature in the brain! ... Gravity and that appears to be uncannily fortuitous in my ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: God=G_uv Comments of Isham Dembski Unwin
    ... commentaries from Drs. Isham and Dembski. ... with which they have received this remarkable discovery. ... curvature of real space or is even a curvature in the brain! ... Gravity and that appears to be uncannily fortuitous in my ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: God=G_uv Comments of Isham Dembski Unwin
    ... commentaries from Drs. Isham and Dembski. ... with which they have received this remarkable discovery. ... curvature of real space or is even a curvature in the brain! ... Gravity and that appears to be uncannily fortuitous in my ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • God=G_uv Comments of Isham Dembski Unwin
    ... commentaries from Drs. Isham and Dembski. ... with which they have received this remarkable discovery. ... curvature of real space or is even a curvature in the brain! ... Gravity and that appears to be uncannily fortuitous in my ...
    (sci.math)